Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 118

“It’s about Eun-young.”

“Ah, yes. You mean Eun-young?”

“She’s not coming home enough.”

Jo Gyu-min sighed quietly.

‘Here we go again, here we go again.’

When talking with Kang Jin-ho, he sometimes felt like he was talking to his grandfather. And that feeling seemed to be amplified when they talked about Kang Eun-young.

‘He looks so handsome and well-put-together, so why is he so old-fashioned for his age?’

“Her schedule…”

“She’s a high school student who isn’t coming home.”

“Being an idol…”

“Home!”

Jo Gyu-min knew what answer Kang Jin-ho wanted. He was going to stubbornly refuse, but with Kang Jin-ho being so firm, he had no choice.

“…I will adjust her schedule to ensure she returns home without fail.”

“Thank you.”

Jo Gyu-min, with a face full of dissatisfaction, bowed his head and suppressed his rising anger before asking Kang Jin-ho,

“By the way, Mr. Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“This could be a very important time for Ms. Kang Eun-young. You know that I’m not managing her schedule to squeeze out more money, right?”

“Yes.”

‘Of course.’ Jo Gyu-min wouldn’t get anything even if Kang Eun-young made money.

“If you understand how important one photoshoot and one video are right now…”

“I’m telling you, she’s not coming home.”

‘It would be better to talk to a wall.’

Jo Gyu-min, feeling dejected with pity for Kang Eun-young and himself, nodded.

“Yes. Fine, I’ll adjust it.”

‘If he’s told to do it, he has to do it. What else can he do?’

But Jo Gyu-min also had something to say.

“The Chairman wants to have a meal with you. Can you make time?”

“No.”

“…”

It was a formality to ask, but he was just supposed to make time. Jo Gyu-min never expected to be rejected so decisively.

No, Jo Gyu-min had never even considered the possibility of being rejected. He was flustered and said,

“A-Are you busy? How about tomorrow evening?”

“I’m spending it with my family.”

“…Family?”

‘Of course, time with family is important. But hasn’t he already spent almost ten days with his family?’

In the world, who would refuse Hwang Jung-hoo when he wants to have a meal? Even the president would come running if Hwang Jung-hoo asked him to have a meal.

Jo Gyu-min was getting a headache trying to figure out how to explain this situation to the Chairman. As he was stammering, Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat.

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

“I-I’ll drive you.”

“No. I came by bicycle. Oh, right. When I return, please have my bicycle serviced. It’s been creaking lately.”

‘Just buy a new one.’

‘He has so much money, why is he bothering with repairs?’

“I will do that.”

“Then.”

As Kang Jin-ho left the cafe, Jo Gyu-min downed his half-melted iced Americano in one shot.

“Ugh…”

‘It’s bitter.’

“I guess I have to give up on the magical girl concept.”

It was the moment one of Jo Gyu-min’s long-held dreams disappeared.

The next day.

“Be careful going in.”

“Yes.”

“Your father said he’d drive you.”

“No, thank you. I have some places to stop by… I’ll go alone.”

“You can get there okay, right?”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

Kang Eun-young, with a face full of displeasure, started to bargain.

“Oppa, you look like a dork in your military uniform.”

“It’s okay.”

“You’re an old man! Old man!”

“That’s right.”

“Ugh!”

Kang Eun-young was furious about her suddenly reduced schedule, but the agency kept repeating that there was nothing they could do, and Kang Jin-ho, the root cause, was a brick wall.

“Oppa!”

Kang Jin-ho slightly glared at her.

“I told you to stop, didn’t I?”

“Yes, sir!”

Kang Eun-young immediately backed down, kicking the floor to express her dissatisfaction, but Baek Hyun-jung and Kang Ji-hwan were pleased.

“It was this easy.”

They both thought that they had dragged out a problem that could have been solved quickly if they had talked to their son earlier.

“Then.”

“Be careful!”

“Oppa, get home safe.”

Kang Jin-ho got into the car as he was being seen off. Park Yu-min was already in the back of the car that Jo Gyu-min had driven.

“Why did you come out?”

“You’re going back, so I had to come out. I couldn’t see you off when you left.”

“I’m not a child.”

“Still.”

Park Yu-min, feeling guilty for not being able to properly visit his friend in the military, had somehow made time to come and see Kang Jin-ho.

“Has the director’s surgery date been set?”

“I just heard about it this morning. They’re going to operate in three days.”

“I see. Take care of her.”

“Yeah. I started working with the childcare teachers today.”

“Okay. If anything happens, the former acting director will consult with you.”

“I’m the former acting director. It’s been a while since I quit, why am I still the acting director?”

Jo Gyu-min chuckled and continued,

“You can tell me, Yu-min.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t just say that, I have Kang Jin-ho’s card, so tell me if you need anything. It’s not my money, so I’ll swipe it generously.”

Park Yu-min looked uncomfortable.

She had heard that Kang Jin-ho was paying the salaries of the new childcare teacher and the kitchen helper.

Kang Jin-ho, reading Park Yu-min’s expression, said calmly,

“It’s not because of you.”

“Still.”

“If I were only thinking about your life, there are many other ways. I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it for the children at the orphanage.”

“Okay.”

He knew that Kang Jin-ho didn’t make empty promises. If Kang Jin-ho was doing this because he was worried about Park Yu-min, he would have given her the money and told her to succeed quickly and pay him back. But the fact that he was saying this meant that he was really giving the money for the children at the orphanage, not for Park Yu-min.

“It’s not a small amount of money…”

“It’s not a lot either.”

“Anyway, thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me?”

Kang Jin-ho said as if he was displeased.

“I’m saying again, I’m not doing this because of you, so you don’t have to thank me. Even if you cut ties with the orphanage, I will still provide support.”

“Yeah. So, thank you.”

‘He couldn’t get through to her.’

Kang Jin-ho gave up on trying to persuade Park Yu-min.

“Call me when the surgery is over.”

“Okay. I’ll call you.”

“Okay.”

After a few more words, they arrived at the orphanage. Park Yu-min got out of the car and waved.

“I’m going in. I’m going back to training tomorrow.”

“Okay. From my experience, once you lose your touch, it’s hard to get it back. Start again quickly.”

“I heard the rumors. You got your ass kicked, right?”

“…”

“Ah, how embarrassing.”

“Let’s go.”

Kang Jin-ho, avoiding eye contact with Park Yu-min, urged them on, and Jo Gyu-min stepped on the accelerator with a bitter smile.

Whoosh.

As the car disappeared into the distance, Park Yu-min sighed as she watched it.

“That stubborn guy.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had been defeated by the pros several times on the first day, regained his past skills in just three days and mercilessly slaughtered all kinds of pro gamers.

He didn’t make it into the rankings because he didn’t have enough time, but he declared the return of the Kill-Je era by achieving a record of 22 consecutive wins against top pro gamers.

“I have to work hard too.”

‘He was a friend she always admired and was grateful for. To not be ashamed in front of such a friend, she wanted to beat him in at least one field.’

“Hmm…”

Park Yu-min waved her hand towards the receding car.

“Aren’t you sad?”

“About what?”

“You seem so calm about returning.”

“There’s no reason for me not to be calm.”

“Indeed.”

Kang Jin-ho looked out the car window. The car had just passed the Civilian Control Line [a restricted area near the border] and was heading north, further north. Even though he was returning quickly before sunset, he didn’t feel particularly sad.

However, although he wasn’t sad, he couldn’t help but think about the things he hadn’t finished dealing with.

That was the case with the director and Han Se-yeon.

In the director’s case, there was nothing he could do with manpower. As a soldier, it was impossible for him to watch over her until the end. And since he had done everything he could, he could only trust others now.

But Han Se-yeon’s case was different.

‘Because we were young…’

Han Se-yeon said that it happened because both he and she were young.

That might be true for Han Se-yeon, but it wasn’t true for Kang Jin-ho. His age was actually older than his father’s.

Perhaps he wasn’t ready to accept people yet. And in the process, he might have unintentionally hurt Han Se-yeon.

‘I’m still lacking.’

He was lacking.

His understanding of people, his understanding of the world.

But he wasn’t impatient.

He knew that, as the head nun had said, it was also a way to just wait and endure, rather than trying to achieve something hastily.

He didn’t intend to blindly believe those words, but just the fact that he had more options gave Kang Jin-ho a sense of peace.

‘It’s not now.’

Even if there was another way, it was already in the past. It was foolish to dwell on the past. Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes.

It was time to focus on his military life again.

“Jin-ho, welcome back?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did you eat a lot of delicious food?”

“Yes.”

“Look at this guy, he’s gained weight during his ten-day leave.”

“You crazy bastard, he’s lost weight.”

“Huh? Now that I see it… What did you do outside? Did you get a girlfriend?”

“Jin-ho has a girlfriend.”

“Oh, is that so? I didn’t know because you didn’t say anything. Oh? Then maybe that’s why you lost weight?”

“You bastard, leave him alone!”

“Hey, what do you mean leave him alone? Jin-ho is over twenty years old. Even if he’s the youngest, he has a private life.”

Jo Won-gu kicked Jeon Hyuk-soo in the back.

“Anyway, you chatterbox.”

Even after being kicked, Jeon Hyuk-soo chuckled and said to Kang Jin-ho,

“So, did you have a lot of fun with your girlfriend?”

“We broke up.”

“Oh, okay. Fun… Huh?”

“We broke up.”

Instantly, the atmosphere around them turned cold.

“Ah, is that so?”

Everyone started looking at Kang Jin-ho with pity.

Kang Jin-ho, not knowing what was going on, looked around.

“Why are you all like this?”

“No, it’s nothing…”

“Ahem.”

Jo Won-gu cleared his throat and approached Kang Jin-ho.

“Maknae [youngest member], let’s have a talk.”

“Did I hear you wrong?”

“A talk, a talk. Let’s have a talk.”

“Ah, yes.”

Kang Jin-ho was immediately dragged away by the squad leader and had to explain the circumstances of the breakup and prove that there was no mental issue as a result.

“It’s definitely not because we think you’re going to desert.”

“…Yes.”

“It’s something everyone has to do when they break up with their girlfriend. There are so many crazy guys out there. You know what I mean?”

“Yes.”

“Anyway, cheer up.”

“Yes.”

That evening, Kang Jin-ho, who had unexpectedly received frozen food and ramen from his seniors, let out a deep sigh.

‘I shouldn’t have said anything.’

After returning to this world, it was the first time Kang Jin-ho had received pitying looks from others.